Trump says he wants out of Syria ‘very soon’
He complains about spending in Middle East
WASHINGTON – President Trump said Tuesday he still wants to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, but will first make sure that the Islamic State has been defeated.
“I want to get out, I want to bring our troops back home,” Trump told reporters, claiming the United States has “al- most completed” the task of defeating ISIS as part of the civil war in Syria.
But, in a shift from a comment he made last week proclaiming an imminent pullout, Trump said “we will not rest until ISIS is gone,” and until allies are consulted.
“We’ll be making a decision very quickly, in coordination with others, as to what we’ll do,” the president said.
Speaking at a joint news conference with leaders of the Baltic nations, Trump also suggested that Saudi Arabia may pay for U.S. troops if it wants them to stay in Syria.
Trump said last week during a speech in Ohio that the U.S. would be “coming out of Syria like very soon,” but seemed to put conditions on the final decision when asked about it Tuesday.
The president also spoke as CNN reported that the U.S. military is “working on plans to send dozens of additional U.S. troops to northern Syria.”
At the news conference, Trump complained again about the billions of dollars the United States has spent in the Middle East, and claimed money could better be spent on domestic projects.